Operated by Eutelsat, it provides direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting services from geostationary orbit.

The satellite was part of Eutelsat's Hot Bird constellation at a longitude of 13° East, until it was relocated to 8° West between July 2013 and August 2013.

It is equipped with an S400-12 apogee motor which was used for initial orbit-raising manoeuvres and an S10-18 engine for station keeping burns.

Liftoff occurred at 22:05:00 UTC on 21 August 2002,[3] with the launch vehicle successfully injecting its payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).

[4] Following launch, the satellite Hot Bird 6 used its apogee motor to raise itself into geostationary orbit, positioning itself at a longitude of 13° East.